1045: Navigating Political Polarization: Organizational Challenges and Strategic Responses (15996)

Organizer(s)

• LC

  Ludovica Castiglia

  IESE Business School, Spain

Discussant(s)

• FB

  Forrest Briscoe

  Cornell U., United States

Presenter(s)

• TW

  Timothy Werner

  U. of Texas at Austin, United States
• LC

  Ludovica Castiglia

  IESE Business School, Spain
• GR

  Grady Raines

  Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, United States
• WH

  Witold Jerzy Henisz

  U. of Pennsylvania, United States

Participant(s)

• JC

  Joel Cobb

  U. of Texas at Austin, United States
• CB

  Christopher Bruno

  Management Department - The Wharton School, U. of Pennsylvania, United States
• TW

  Tyler Wry

  The Wharton School, U. of Pennsylvania, United States

This symposium showcases current research projects on how political polarization shapes firms' strategies and performance. While most attention has focused on the societal repercussions of political polarization, far less research has focused on its impact on organizational strategies and outcomes. By spanning theoretical traditions and levels of analyses, the papers assembled in this symposium tackle this question, examining how polarization reshapes stakeholder relationships and corporate nonmarket strategies, influencing economic outcomes and presenting new challenges for firms navigating these shifts. They also explore how organizational practices spread in a polarized context, challenging the notion that institutionalization leads to uniformity. Finally, they offer new insights on how countermovements unfold within polarized sociopolitical contexts, strategically targeting and influencing corporations.

Presentations:

• 16:45 – 18:15 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  1045: Great(er) Expectations: Nonmarket Strategy in an Age of Affective Polarization (15996)
  

  Author: Timothy Werner – U. of Texas at Austin

  Author: Joel Adam Cobb – U. of Texas at Austin

  Author: Christopher Bruno – Management Department - The Wharton School, U. of Pennsylvania

  Author: Tyler Wry – The Wharton School, U. of Pennsylvania
• 16:45 – 18:15 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  1045: Fractured Endorsements: Value Alignment in Polarized Landscapes (15996)
  

  Author: Ludovica Castiglia – IESE Business School
• 16:45 – 18:15 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  1045: Polarization and Practice: Divergent DEI Adoption Following Salient Events (15996)
  

  Author: Grady Wallace Raines – Cornell SC Johnson College of Business
• 16:45 – 18:15 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  1045: The Counter-Mobilization of the Anti-ESG Movement (15996)
  

  Author: Witold Jerzy Henisz – U. of Pennsylvania